


When You're Fifteen

by orphan_account



Series: It's Quitting Time, Boys [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, how renmin came to be!, i almost forgot but volleyball is mentioned, jaemin is panicked, jisung gets sentimental, okay renjun is panicked too, some references to theatre, the beginning of the end!, yukhei has a spam account
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-06-06 00:12:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15182459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After some prodding by his friends, Jaemin finally reveals how he and Renjun started dating.





	When You're Fifteen

**Author's Note:**

> Ah yes, the beginning of the end of this series. I didn't proofread, but when do I ever? I pretty sure the plot is pretty weak, the story is mostly told through memories, but I hope you guys like it!
> 
> Btw, the title is a reference to the song Fifteen by Taylor Swift. I thought it was fitting.

In hindsight, having a big sleepover the week before exams was not the best idea. But Jaemin didn’t think it was the worst either. Jisung had finally given up on Fortnite for a night, Donghyuck told Jeno not to call him until morning, and Mark had already finished his semester exams in university. They were all in a good mood while watching some obscure ESPN documentary on baseball. They hadn’t done this in a long time. It felt nice.

 

“I’m going to miss you guys,” Jisung said from the armchair, so softly they barely heard him.

 

Jisung still had two years left of high school and only had one other friend that wasn’t graduating. Jaemin didn’t really know what that felt like, but he figured it didn’t feel great.

 

“Jisung, we’ll visit during holidays and breaks. You know that. Don’t worry,” Jaemin reassured. Out of their entire group of friends, Jaemin was the closest to Jisung.

 

Donghyuck sighed dramatically. “Ugh, now the mood is ruined. Let’s talk about something else.”

 

Mark grinned. “Yukhei and I are dating now. I’m meeting his parents tomorrow.”

 

Donghyuck feigned sincerity. “I’m so surprised. Good job, Mark.”

 

“The two of you need to cut it out,” Jaemin nagged. They were always at each other’s throats but were the first to defend the other.

 

Jisung spoke up. “Actually, I’m curious about something.”

 

Mark raised an eyebrow. “What?”

 

Jisung shifted his gaze to Jaemin. “How did you and Renjun even start dating?”

 

Donghyuck sat up, suddenly interested. “Yeah, you never told us. You know everything we do. Spill.”

 

Jaemin struggled to find the right words. The whole thing was a lot more complicated than he had ever let on and he was afraid to receive judgement. He had assumed they would give it up and let it go after they were official, but it looked like they never did.

 

Jaemin cleared his throat. “Do you guys actually want to know?”

 

Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “We asked, didn’t we?”

*

 

Jaemin was fifteen. It was the first day of sophomore year and he was thrilled that he was finally taller. He was still a little scrawny, that couldn’t be helped, but he looked more mature than the previous year. Donghyuck practically looked the same and Mark had finally gotten his braces off. Jaemin thought it was a little suspicious how often they were hanging out without him, but he figured that Mark would accidentally tell in time.

 

“Mark, look at my shirt. Look how dry it is,” Donghyuck pointed out as they waited for Mark to put his textbooks away. The hallway was thinning out as students rushed to get home. The trio was always a little slow at getting places though.

 

Mark looked up. “That’s cool Donghyuck. What does this have to do with me?”

 

Jaemin could already see where this was going before Donghyuck opened his mouth. 

 

“You got your braces off, dummy. Now I’m free from your complimentary spit showers.”

 

Mark threatened to hit him with a precalculus textbook as Jaemin tried to hold in a laugh. Oh yeah, they definitely liked each other.

 

Jaemin pulled his backpack closer to him. “I gotta go guys. I said I’d help with volleyball conditioning.”

 

Mark snorted. “You don’t even play volleyball.”

 

“But I do need volunteer hours, which the trainer offered to me. Anyway, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

 

The men’s volleyball season wasn’t until later in the year but conditioning was still mandatory. Technically, Jaemin didn’t have to do anything except remind the athletes about safety procedures and a bunch of other boring stuff. It was easy.

 

Just as Jaemin was about to scold a soccer player for not having a spotter, a skinny boy walked in that looked like he shouldn’t be playing any type of sport.

 

“Hi, I’m from the volleyball team. I was wondering what our workout for today is?” He asked Jaemin. Jaemin was a bit distracted; he had never seen a face that looked so… pure.

 

“Um, I don’t know. I’m not on the team, sorry.”

 

The boy smiled. “It’s fine.” And then, “Weren’t you in the musical in middle school?”

  
  
  
  


Jaemin really, really, really liked Renjun. And even though he was the president of Gay Straight Alliance and was vocal about every single injustice he saw, he was a coward when it came to admitting his feelings. Even when he dated in freshman year, Jeno was the one to confess, not him. And now Renjun was teaching him how to bump and Jaemin couldn’t breathe.

 

“So you put your arms together like this,” Renjun said and pushed Jaemin’s arms together from behind. “Make sure your forearms are facing up.” Jaemin did as instructed. “Good.”

 

Renjun stepped back. “Now kind of squat. Not too low though.” Once he deemed Jaemin’s position correct enough, he moved behind the net. “Now I’m going to throw the ball over the net and you’re gonna bump it, okay?”

 

Jaemin nodded. 

 

Renjun threw the ball up and Jaemin moved to bump it. And he did it! And then he felt a pain his arms and realized he probably didn’t do it right.

 

Renjun sighed and pulled Jaemin to a bleacher. A purple bruise had started to blossom near his wrist.

 

“You hit too hard, Jaemin,” Renjun mumbled. He traced the bruise gently. Jaemin flicked his fingers away, face burning.

 

“Whatever. It doesn’t even hurt.” Jaemin stood and picked up his bag. “I have to get started on my homework.”

 

Renjun smirked. “First of all, it’s Friday. Second of all, that’s my backpack.”

 

Jaemin cringed. Did God hate him? Was that their job?

 

Renjun grabbed his bag from Jaemin’s shoulders. “Let’s go get ice cream. The shop is right across the street.”

 

Watching Renjun eat ice cream was… amusing. He was messy, for one, and he looked like a child. Vanilla ice cream covered his nose and mouth but he remained unbothered.

 

Jaemin handed him a napkin. “Cute,” he laughed. Renjun smiled sheepishly and took the napkin.

 

“Thanks.” Renjun swiped the napkin across his face. It didn’t do much; half of it was still around his mouth, but Jaemin said nothing. “Do you still do theatre?”

 

“Yeah, I was in the chorus last year. Didn’t really have a big part.”

 

“I was on tech last year. I think I might do it again this year,” Renjun mumbled out, his face suffering another attack from his ice cream cone. Jaemin was dying at how cute it was. (How cute Renjun was, really.)

 

“Here,” Jaemin said before reaching over the table and wiping the ice cream off properly. Renjun looked up at him and he paused. His eyes were bigger up close; bigger and prettier and Jaemin wanted to look all day. Jaemin leaned back and stared at the table.

 

“Um, thanks,” Renjun said.

 

“Huh? Oh, you’re welcome.”

 

That night, Renjun walked him home  _ and  _ offered to carry his bag. And even though it was dark and barely-functioning streetlights were the only source of light, they could both tell they were blushing.

 

*

 

“Hey Renjun, look at this,” Jaemin said between laughs. He was sprawled out on Renjun’s bed, scrolling through Instagram. He was currently going through Yukhei’s spam account. The post he was looking at was a rant video about his report card.

 

“Okay, fucking first of all,” Yukhei started. “My name isn’t even Lucas. It’s Yukhei. But Mary Beth Anderson is fucking Caucasian and doesn’t even bother to spell my legal name.” He held up his birth certificate. “Does this say Lucas? Does this say Lucas Wong? No. Only the homies can call me that,” Jaemin winced at the word “homies”. “It’s not enough that she constantly gets me and Sicheng mixed up, someone who is two grades above me and has fucking graduated, but she refused to give me the extra credit I worked my ass off for. Anyway, fuck you, Mary Beth.”

 

Renjun laughed so hard tears gathered in his eyes. “I went to elementary school with him and my parents think he’s so polite because he goes to a Catholic school. They’re so wrong.”

 

Jaemin shut his phone off and sat up. “I’ve only met him twice. He seems chill.”

 

Renjun stood and stretched. “I’m going to grab some snacks. You can set up Netflix and we can watch something?”

 

Jaemin nodded and Renjun left. Exams being over meant that they could hang out a lot more. Their last exam was that day and Renjun had carried Jaemin’s bag all the way to his house. (Jaemin died at least four times, but that was a secret.) Donghyuck and Mark would’ve been suspicious, but they had started dating two months before and were subsequently oblivious to everything. 

 

Jaemin approached Renjun’s desk. His room was a lot like him; calm and orderly, full of neutral colors and organized shelves. Moomin doodles were strewn around his laptop and a big bright sunflower sticker was placed on the case. Jaemin lifted the laptop and dozens of forms lay underneath. One read  _ Study Abroad Program-China. _

 

“Study abroad?” Jaemin whispered. Was Renjun leaving soon? During the summer? After high school?

 

Renjun walked in carrying an armful of snacks and Jaemin placed the form back on the desk. 

 

“I didn’t know what kinds of chips you like, so I brought every kind up,” He threw the snacks on the bed. “What do you want to watch?”

 

They settled on rewatching their favorite episodes of Family Guy. While Renjun was distracted by Stewie insulting Meg, Jaemin leaned over and kissed his cheek. Renjun froze.

 

“I like you, Renjun. You’re really cute and sweet, and I really like you.” Jaemin held his breath, expecting the worse.

 

Renjun smiled and laced their fingers together. Jaemin hadn’t been this happy since he learned he was in the top one hundred in his class. “I like you too, Jaemin.”

 

Feeling bolder, Jaemin blurted out, “Don’t leave.”

 

Renjun’s grip on his hand loosened. “You saw.”

 

“Please don’t leave.”

 

Renjun let go of his hand entirely and shut his laptop. “You can’t ask me to do that. Besides, everything is already settled. I leave next month. I’ll be back in a year.”

 

“Renjun-”

 

Renjun stood and began to clean up. “This a good opportunity. You know I can’t waste it. Please tell me you understand that.”

 

Jaemin could already feel the tears on his cheeks. “Why did you even tell me you liked me back? Why did you lead me on?”

 

Renjun ignored him and plugged his laptop in. “It’s getting late. Maybe you should go.”

 

Jaemin nodded and started for the door, before, “Have fun, Renjun.”

 

Jaemin stood on his doorstep watching the snow come down. It was far too cold to walk home and Mark and Donghyuck were on a date. He considered calling his parents, but he didn’t feel like answering questions as to why he was crying. His fingers hovered over a name before he pressed call.

 

Finally, a car pulled up. “Get in loser, we’re going shopping,” Yukhei said. Jaemin smiled weakly and climbed in. 

 

“I’m not going to ask why you’re crying, mainly because I don’t really know you, but please don’t get your tears on the leather, it’s my mom’s new car.”

 

“Noted.”

 

That night Jaemin fell asleep angry; angry that Renjun didn’t tell him, that he didn’t care that Jaemin cared, angry that study abroad programs even existed. But he was mostly angry at himself; he felt childish and irrational for even asking Renjun to stay. 

 

*

 

**_renjun_ **

_ I know you don’t want to talk to me right now, but hopefully we can stay friends? you’re one of  the best friends I have.  _ **[FAILED TO DELIVER]**

 

_ I’m really sorry for not telling you.   _ **[FAILED TO DELIVER]**

 

*

 

“Hey, Jaemin, look at this,” Donghyuck tilted his phone screen towards Jaemin. It was a picture of Renjun with his friends in China. The caption read:  _ I’ll miss you guys! _ “I guess he’s coming back soon.”

 

Jaemin snorted. “Why do you even care? We barely know him,” He lied.

 

Donghyuck and Jaemin stood and pushed their chairs in. Donghyuck gathered their trash. “I think you forget that he’s the only other kid besides you, Mark, and Jisung, that I like at this school.”

 

“Wow, I feel so special. I’m in the same tier as an art nerd.”

 

The bell rang and Donghyuck sighed. “Like, can you not be an ass? You don’t even know Renjun. I don’t know if it’s exam stress, or whatever, but you haven’t been yourself lately.” He waved his hand around Jaemin. “Fix it.”

 

Jaemin watched Donghyuck maneuver his way through the halls. Truthfully, he hadn’t been himself. It had nothing to do with exams and everything to do with Renjun being on a flight home. He wasn’t afraid that old feelings would resurface (Well, they never really left.), but he was afraid that Renjun wouldn’t even want to look at him, talk to him, hell, even acknowledge him. Jaemin had acted like a clingy boyfriend, asking Renjun to stay when they weren’t even dating.

 

Jaemin slid into his seat in AP Biology and slammed his head onto the desk. He couldn’t see Renjun. He just couldn’t.

 

*

Well, fate really liked to fuck with Jaemin. He watched in horror, mouth agape, as he watched Renjun paint the tables along with the rest of tech crew in January. He was taller, and paler. He looked more mature with round glasses slipping off of his face. Drops of paint splattered onto his white shoes and an angry purple streak ran diagonal across his cheek. 

 

Mark clapped Jaemin on the back, drawing him out of his thoughts. “What are you doing here? You don’t have rehearsal today.”

 

Jaemin tried to piece his thoughts together. “I, uh, I needed to, uh-”

 

“Donghyuck didn’t send you here to drop off another one of my sweatshirts, did he? I told him I could pick them up this weekend.”

 

Donghyuck and Mark had ended their relationship right after Christmas. Despite it being amicable, Donghyuck was still too shy to look Mark in the eye and sent all of his messages through Jaemin or Jisung.

 

Jaemin shook his head. “Um, no. I needed to talk to the director. He said he’d be here today.”

 

“Oh, I don’t know where he is. I don’t think he’s here.”

 

“Oh. Well, thanks.” Just then, Renjun looked over and spotted Jaemin. Jaemin watched in disbelief as he set his paintbrush down and began walking towards him.

 

Mark looked between the two. “Oh, you know Renjun? He just got back two weeks ago.”

 

Jaemin nodded and began backing away. Towards the edge of the stage. Renjun walked faster.

 

“Hey, Jaemin! How have you been- oh my gosh.”

 

Jaemin twisted in pain as a shock ran through his leg. He thought he heard a crack when he fell. 

 

Mark peered down. “Jaemin, are you okay?”

 

Jaemin squeezed his eyes shut. “What does a broken leg feel like?”

  
  
  
  


Jaemin cried during the entirety of his school’s production of  _ High School Musical. _ He sat in the back, his sweatpants covering the big, ugly cast on his leg. He wanted to perform so badly, but the fall from the stage was pretty rough and his leg ended up broken.

 

After the cast took their bows, tech crew walked from backstage, awkward. Tech crew usually didn’t bow, so Jaemin figured this was one of Mark’s ideas. Renjun stepped up in front, artificial lights casting a glow around him. He smiled sheepishly before bowing. Jaemin looked away.

 

Jaemin decided to wait for the crowd to thin out before getting up, well aware of the fact that moving with his cast was difficult.

 

Renjun slid into the seat next to Jaemin. Jaemin scoffed. Just his luck.

 

“How’s your leg?” 

 

“I mean, it’s broken.”

 

Renjun laughed. His glasses slipped down. “Obviously. Does it hurt?”

 

“Not anymore.”

 

After that a comfortable silence passed over them. The auditorium was practically empty.

 

“Do you hate me?” Renjun said suddenly.

 

Jaemin looked over. “What?”

 

Renjun looked down at his jeans. “I texted you that night, you know, before I left. I asked if we could still be friends. You never responded.”

 

Jaemin shook his head, confused. “I never got a text.”

 

Renjun pulled his phone from his back pocket and began scrolling through his messages. “No, I remember writing that while cry- wait.”

 

Jaemin leaned over his shoulder. “What?”

 

Renjun ran a hand over his face. “They didn’t deliver.”

 

Jaemin giggled. “Renjun, it was snowing really hard that day. You should’ve checked.”

 

Renjun groaned. A red tint spread across his cheeks. “I thought you hated me for like, a year.”

 

Jaemin punched his arm. “I could never hate you. You may be good at school, but you don’t have common sense. I have to take care of you.” At that, the two of them laughed.

 

Renjun sobered up and fixed his gaze on the curtains closing. “Jaemin, I’ve liked you since middle school.”

 

“Wait, what? We talked like, once.” Jaemin’s memory barely conjured up a foggy picture of a pre-pubescent Renjun in his peer tutoring group.

 

“You were really nice. We were both tutors, remember? I lost my patience a lot with the people I tutored. At first I was jealous of you because you were always so kind and understanding even when you had to teach stuff to dumbasses. I always saw you organize food drives, and penny wars, and literally every community service project. You were like an angel- no you  _ are  _ like an angel.”

 

“Renjun,” Jaemin said softly.

 

“I was so happy when we started hanging out last year. I thought, ‘Huh, fate is really making it up to me’ and then I had to leave and you confessed and-“

 

“Renjun. Stop, you’re rambling,” Jaemin brushed Renjun’s hair out of his face. “I still like you, stop making it seem like I don’t. To be honest, I was afraid to see you. I thought you’d think I was childish for asking you to stay.”

 

“I would’ve asked you the same thing. It wasn’t childish.”

 

Jaemin leaned back, a year old weight disappearing from his shoulders. “I think we should be friends again first. You know, before we think about dating.”

 

Renjun placed his chin in his hands. The dim lights made his dark eyes seem bigger. Jaemin was mesmerized. “Interesting. Can friends kiss each other?”

 

“Of course. Friendship is a flexible concept.”

 

*

 

Donghyuck finally spoke. “So when did you guys start dating?”

 

Jaemin smiled. “August.”

 

Mark narrowed his eyes. “Bro, fuck you.”

 

Jisung buried himself deeper into his blanket. “I don’t think I’ll miss a liar.”

 

Jaemin laughed. “I didn’t even lie!”

 

Donghyuck sniffled. “You lied by omission.”

 

Jaemin’s phone buzzed in his lap. “Wait a sec, I gotta take this.” Jaemin shuffled into the hallway.

 

“Wow, my boyfriend can’t call me but his can? Unbelievable,” he heard Donghyuck complain. 

 

“Shut up, you’ve been texting Jeno all night,” Jisung said. 

 

“Hello?” Jaemin answered. 

 

“Is your sleepover done yet?” Renjun asked over the line. 

 

Jaemin grinned. “Renjun, it’s barely nine.”

 

“But I drew a new picture! I want you to see,” Renjun whined. 

 

“Show me tomorrow, okay?”

 

“Fine,” Renjun mumbled before hanging up.

 

Jaemin walked back into the living room to see Mark and Jisung laughing at Donghyuck. 

 

“You threw up on him? This is way better than Jaemin’s story,” Mark wheezed out.

 

Donghyuck looked up from his phone. “True. Jaemin’s story is like a shitty Taylor Swift song from 2009.”

 

Jaemin tackled him and Mark howled again. 

 

Jisung stood and barely held back a smile. “I take it back. I won’t miss any of you.”

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Just some notes:
> 
> To be clear, Renjun came back during the winter/spring semester of their junior year. Jaemin never let on that he and Renjun were ever friends. Also, Renjun never quit volleyball! He became really good at it as well.


End file.
